The present invention deals with telephony systems, including conventional telephone calls delivered to a telephone, and what are known now in the art as Internet Phone (IP) calls, which are telephone calls delivered over the Internet, and to which a user interfaces with a computer station, such as a personal computer (PC) during a session wherein the user is connected to the Internet. To avoid confusion a convention is adopted for the purposes of this specification wherein the conventional telephone calls delivered over the public-switched telephony network to a telephone will be called PSTN calls, and the IP calls will continue to be called IP calls.
The Internet is a global matrix of linked computers and file servers providing a virtually unlimited pool of knowledge to any user who has a connection for access. The state of the Internet is continually evolving and changing both in scope and technology. What has evolved from a type of military infrastructure has become a largely civilian super-structure allowing exchange of information to take place rapidly from almost any location in the world.
At the time of the present patent application, Internet infrastructures are largely land-based, transmitting data over digital links and analog lines, and the like. The typical user connections for the land-based infrastructure include a telephone line, a modem, and an Internet Service Provider (ISP) through which connection to the Internet is provided. Generally speaking, these connective elements are all that are required for a user to have the basic capability to access the Internet, provided the user has a PC with at least minimum system requirements.
At the time of the present patent application, it is believed by the inventor that between 60% and 80% of persons having Internet access have only one telephone line to their premises, and the one line is connected to their personal computer and is also the user's regular telephone for receiving PSTN calls. It is well known in the art that a telephone line that is connected to a computer station and receiving digital data from the Internet cannot, at the same time, receive a PSTN call. Therefore, if a person were to call someone who happens to be in a current session on the Internet and using that particular line, the person placing the call would receive a busy signal. Because of this, if the person browsing the Internet has call-waiting service, the call waiting feature has to be disabled while browsing the Internet, because a call-waiting signal would disrupt an Internet data transfer.
A typical telephone connection dedicated to accessing the Internet can be expensive to maintain for a typical family that also maintains a telephone connection for conventional PSTN call use. Many families simply cannot afford to maintain more than one telephone line as would be required to browse the Internet and also receive PSTN calls in a normal fashion. Being restricted to one telephone line that is used for both Internet access and PSTN calls can be more than just an inconvenience for a family, especially for a family with children. For example, while a user with a single phone line is browsing the Internet, one of the user's children may be trying to phone home. There is no way the user can receive even emergency calls.
Personal Computers (PCs) on the market today are typically capable of multimedia communication. For example, with the appropriate software, speakers, a standard microphone, and a sound card, a typical PC can be used as a voice communication device much like a telephone. Thus equipped, a caller can engage in two-way, real-time communication with one or more people while connected to the Internet. Since the Internet is the communication medium for such applications, there are no toll charges involved for long distance connections. While not accruing toll charges is a distinct advantage with this type of arrangement, a drawback is that persons called or calling an Internet-connected user must have a multimedia PC connected to the Internet and have the matching software installed.
What is clearly needed is a system including software executable on a multimedia PC whereby a person connected to the Internet and having only one telephone line can continue to receive PSTN calls from a user and make PSTN telephone calls to persons not connected to the Internet while he or she is engaged in an on-line browsing session. Such a system would alleviate inconvenience and concern associated with the inability to receive possibly important telephone calls while on-line. Such a method could also alleviate the expense associated with the addition of a second telephone line.